Shards
by EmberForge
Summary: The Doctor stops in to visit an old friend, but instead finds something that he never wanted to face...


"Hello Smith family!" the Doctor exclaimed as he let himself into 13 Bannerman Road. He looked around the entryway, grinning as he waited for a response, but his enthusiastic greeting was met only with silence. "Hello? Anyone home?" he called out slightly louder.

A crash resounded from further in the house, startling the Doctor. He followed the sound to the kitchen, where he was greeted by the sight of Luke, frozen in place, staring at the shards of broken glass that were scattered in a puddle near his feet. The Doctor chuckled a bit in relief. "Only a broken water glass. And here I was thinking there was trouble. You know, you never can tell with you Smiths..."

The Doctor's voice seemed to snap Luke out of his trance. He turned, and the Doctor was surprised to watch Luke's face harden as he met the Doctor's eyes. Out of all the reactions the Doctor was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. In an instant, as if he realized what he was doing, Luke's face went blank. "Go away, Doctor."

The Doctor's smile fell from his face. "What?"

"I said, _go away_ ," Luke repeated, pulling out a dustpan from a cabinet to clean up the broken glass.

"Luke, what's wrong?" The boy didn't answer, meticulously picking up every shard he could find before throwing the mess out. "Where's Sarah? Maybe she-"

Luke slammed the lid of the bin, interrupting the Doctor mid-sentence. "NO! Don't you DARE say her name!"

"Luke...?"

When Luke turned around, the Doctor was startled to see tears in his eyes."You said you'd always be there for her. That you'd be there when it really mattered. You PROMISED, but the one time she needed you more than ever, you weren't there!"

"Luke... What happened? The Doctor asked slowly, eyes filling with concern.

"S-she's dead."

The Doctor stumbled into the counter, knuckles turning white as he held onto it as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. A silence descended upon the room, only interrupted by the sounds of heavy breathing. Eventually, the Doctor worked up his courage and asked, "...How?"

Luke tried to wipe away the tears from his eyes. "The doctors said it was a highly progressed form of cancer. M-mum didn't think so though. All the symptoms didn't add up. She figured it was something alien." As he spoke, Luke slowly moved across the room until he was about a step away from the Doctor. "We tried everything, asked anyone who we thought might be able to help if they knew what it was, but... not even Mr. Smith could figure it out. It was only three weeks after she was admitted into the hospital that she..." His voice broke, and tears started streaming down his cheeks.

On impulse, the Doctor wrapped his arms around Luke, holding onto him tightly. Luke tried to struggle, but the Doctor's grasp was firm, and Luke started to beat his fists against the Doctor's chest. "It's YOUR fault! You could have SAVED HER! You could have... please, go back! You have to go back and help her, she's all that I have, _please_..." Luke finally gave up, sagging against the Doctor and sobbing into his shirt.

The Doctor lowered them both to the floor, tears welling in his own eyes as he rubbed soothing circles on Luke's back. "I can't. I'm sorry, I would give anything to be able to, but I can't."

"I j-just want my m-mum back..."

"I know," the Doctor murmured. He sat on the floor with Luke for what felt like a lifetime, just holding him and whispering words of comfort. After his tears had finally dried up, Luke pulled away from the Doctor, rearranging himself to sit at the Time Lord's side.

"Does it ever stop hurting?" Luke asked, pulling his knees to his chest.

"No," the Doctor said honestly. "But it becomes easier to deal with, in time."

They sat in silence for a while longer. "I don't know what to do," Luke said after a moment. "I can't stay here. Not right now. I just... I keep waiting for her to walk through the front door, and I know it's stupid, but I can't help it, and I just want to get away from it all... but there's nowhere else I can go."

"I can take you somewhere," the Doctor suggested. "Anywhere, anywhen- within reason, of course," he hastily added. "Or..."

"Or?"

"...Or you can travel with me, for a little while."

Luke looked up from staring at his trainers to meet the Doctor's eyes. "I... I think I'd like that."

The Doctor slowly stood up, then held out his hand to Luke and helped him to his feet. "Have you ever heard of a place called Florana?" Luke shook his head, and the Doctor smiled as he started to lead him to the TARDIS. "It's absolutely beautiful. One of the most relaxing planets I've ever come across, too. I always come back from Florana feeling a hundred years younger. The air is like a magic potion..."


End file.
